kirsten, clemence, lions and mulberry.

speaking of bulgari ads, lookee what i found involving the lovely kirsten dunst. i'm sure it's been given the photo chop, but she is just luminous. and next to a lion. oh, bulgari. hearts.

i might add that i discovered this on the very day it came out, and not four months after. this is obviously further proof that my finger is planted quite firmly on the pulse of all things Current Event, and not just because i was accidently searching for more info on this delightful mustard vestido worn by clémence poésy (in a dunst-palermo sammie) on the front row at mulberry's fall 2011 nyfw show. clémmy, i thought you were lovely in harry potter and in bruges. please feel free to cough up some info on that dress STAT.

do it yourself.

is your broke-ness giving you a case of the sads? dry up, because D-I-Y is looking less and less shabby these days. thanks to the internets and sharp creativity, you don't even need mad cash to make your pad super fancy. here are tutorials for two extremely clever at-home projects that are guaranteed to impress your friends and make all your wildest dreams come true:

ultra sick john robshaw-ish block-print rug, via apartment therapy, found over at april and may.

swank dorothy draper nightstand knock-offs, via marcus design, found over at little green notebook.

kelly wearstler has a blog?

oh of coooooooooooourse she does. i am half impressed and equally DAMN YOU WEARSTLER (shaking a fist at the sky). to clarify, i love kelly dubs. big time. however, she beat me to using kw professionally and she seems to do no wrong, so her awesomeness can be a bit frustrating. case in point: the high-heeled my little pony pink snakeskin boots and lavendar jean jacket combo, as seen below? i sure wish i'd done that first. kwearst is fearless and memorable, and those are certainly aspirational qualities.

did i ever tell y'all about the time i met KWID? and by "met", i of course mean "walked by twice and tried to muster the courage to say hello but ultimately failed because she was already surrounded by about twenty worshippers". this was at the avalon hotel in LA, which i have drooled about before (and, if you're just joining us, is a kelly wearstler original). laura and i were seated poolside, in one of those very impressive graphic-walled cabanas, remarking on how it was indeed, not a nashville party, when our waiter polited inquired as to what would have brought two gals from texas all the way to the avalon hotel. because i am both classy and unable to tell lies to complete strangers, i naturally responded KELLY WEARSTLER. laura and i thought it was pretty funny (interior design jokes! played on unsuspecting waiters!) until the waiter got really nervous and started looking around, and then he did that thing where you put one hand up to your mouth so you can tell a big secret.... like SHE'S SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO YOU IN THE BOOTH TO YOUR LEFT. which she was. and i guess you already know how that ended.

color inspiration: jade, black, peacock, navy.

aside from a new and completely foreign obsession with jade, i am lately taken with black, gold and blue of all shades-the darker, the better. i'm talking to you, navy. runners-up include possibly leopard, because i consider that a color, or (gasp) zebra? what is happening? am i slipping into a jewel-tone phase? jeebs. my life is a lion cub and two cockatiels away from a julianne moore bulgari ad.

{images: 1-fischer spring 2011 via lushlee; 2-diane von furstenburg for the rug company; 3-La Grande Odalisque by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres; 4-the interior of a 1973 cadillac; 5-a room by mary macdonald via this blog; 6-kelly wearstler; 7-kate spade guest bedroom via habitually chic; 8-courtney giles plate wall; 9-beaux arts mansion in st. louis; 10-random dorm room via flickr; 11-kelly wearstler.}

jealousy on my nails.

i'm not done talking about texas nail polish yet, people. i had nails and toes painted in Don't Mess With O.P.I. yesterday, and it is FIERCE. someone told me my hands look 'so money' and that person was correct. i haven't stared at my hands this much since b-rad put a ring on it and i am now obsessed with this rad green shade. look for a jade-inspired post soon (or not-i don't get around to doing most of the things i say i will) and JUST LOOK AT THESE NAILS!!!

heels + argyle socks.

i THINK i can pull off this wack-a-doo sock/shoe combo. maybe. the man repeller is ballsy, y'all.

the swankiest office ever.

well, maybe not ever, but i mos def want to go to here. were this my place of professional residence, little actual work would get done. instead, i would wear a crisp white shirt with a pencil skirt and pretty much waste the entire day working on my pose game for imaginary cameras (because that is all i can do when there is a gigantor mirror in the room). despite containing my current color obsessions, this pretend study has a most healthy dose of gold, nailheads and lucite, which - let's face it - should be considered colors. what color do i want my walls to be? nailheads. or lucite, if the color store is out of nailheads. make it happen. lastly, who do i have to sleep with around here to get one of those jonathan adler hans tables already? meeeee-ooooow.

{amy morris for atlanta homes and lifestyles showcase home 2010 **but way before that, i got a preview over at the nero chronicles. so fascinated was i with the gold toad that i forgot everything else.}

love on the walls.

when b-rad and i traveled the mexican interior a few years ago, i was quite taken with a magical pair of portraiture, which i presumed to be the mexican proprietary couple who were responsible for the lovely resort we were visiting (which was mayaland in chichen itza). unfortunately, i have only this one photo. i love how the husband is throwing a look, like, BITCH PLEASE. later, while trolling around desire to inspire, i found these lovebirds, cementing my intrigue with the solemnity of their affections (and frames). a little haphazard googling turned up this nytimes article, which tells a romantic tale of long-separated portrait pairs, reunited at last. i'm sad to have missed the show's installation, and crestfallen to know that when all was said and done, the twain were again divided to their respective galleries. i adore this apparent marital custom, engaged upon mainly by aristocracy, the yanks and the aged. i wonder what i'll wear in 40 years when the sugar bear and i schedule our brace of sittings.so happy valentine's to all the twosomes out there, and what art has joined, please never separate. unless there is a nasty divorce and he runs off with the sexretary or something, in which case i okay a split.
{mayaland lovers photo by yours truly; image two via desire to inspire; Martha and George Washington, painted in 1798 by James Sharples of Britain; Mrs. and Mr. Buckler via Letitia's Art Studio; Henry Ehle and Anna Bellinger of Chittenango, New York, via Maine Antique Digest.}

a very talented wildcat.

jeff rogers is a graphic designer and illustrator, and just so happens to have been an acu wildcat university classmate of mine*. he's always been extremely talented (which is why i pretend that we were/are super best friends, instead of people with lots of classes together that kind of stayed in touch thanks to the facebook) and his recent paintings for the ace hotel are getting a ton of (much deserved) attention and praise. jeff uses a great deal of typography and letterforms in his work, which i'm very drawn to (pun fully intended) and i have spent the better part of my saturday morning rifling through every bit of his website, which you should check out. jeff said he's got plans to open an etsy shop at some point (the sooner, the better, dude. hustle.) so if i catch wind of that, i'll post the news right here. you know, because millions of people read this blog and i am very cutting edge and on the pulse of everything that happens news-wise.

jeff's website here.
*there are a ton of talented people that were part of the graphic design program while i was in college, like jeff. or these guys. or this guy, to name a few. not everyone turned out to be a graphic designer, but i was surrounded by incredible creative minds and immeasurable talent. i like to think that someday, the bauhaus movement of abilene will have better recognition.

do you think i'm tex-y?

yesterday wednesday when i went to visit vy (the most talented nail tech in houston), i nearly fell out of my cowboy boots to learn that opi's latest introduction of nail polishes is the TEXAS collection. as always, i'm tardy to this party, but i've long been a fan of opi products and clever color names in general. this assemblage truly goes above and beyond (aka deep in the heart of color? wonk wonk). to live in a place so remarkable that it has it's very own nail polish homage makes me quite proud. naturally i went with the houston-centric hue, because i am nothing if not fiercely loyal to space city, but some quick investigating revealed that aaaaallllll the way across this giant world in singapore, at the same time, audrey was getting coated with the shade devoted to galveston. the palette is fantastic, but the over-the-top photo shoot with a fiery redhead is also pretty rad. i'm not sure who the model is, but add her to my list of strawberry tressed stunners.

for a detailed listing of the entertaining colors, see below. seriously, i heart texas. and the masterminds over at opi, so it would seem.

Don’t Mess With OPI – lean, mean kick-grass green
Suzi Loves Cowboys – rich campfire chocolate
San Tan-tonio – the perfect honey tan
Austin-tatious Turquoise – bodacious blue green
It’s Totally Fort Worth It – shimmering lavender grey
I Vant To Be A-Lone Star – starry silver-blue

Do You Think I’m Tex-y – a ‘berry’ sexy shade
Houston We Have A Purple – galactic violet
Too Hot Pink to Hold ‘Em – a hot pink winning hand
Y’all Come Back Ya Hear? – Texan tangerine
Big Hair… Big Nails – rosy blush
Guy Meets Gal-veston – “engaging” coral